Big crash for Menzies at Dakar

American off-road star Bryce Menzies got a strong start at the legendary Dakar rally until a massive crash cut short his debut.

The Dakar rookie set a fourth-place pace in his Red Bull John Cooper Works Buggy in the opening stage, but just six miles into the second stage, he hit a deceptive looking bump in the desert and rolled end-over-end multiple times. He was not injured, while co-driver Pete Mortensen suffered an injury to his foot and is expected to fully recover. The vehicle was destroyed.

Despite the disappointing early exit from the race, the multi-time off-road racing champion said he plans to return to South America next year to try again. “We'll go home and regroup, and have a whole year to plan and come back even stronger than we did this year,” Menzies told RedBull.com.

The longtime KMC Wheels driver has excelled in American short-course off-road racing and in the deserts of Baja and has long set his sights on the Dakar event, calling it a lifelong dream. Although he was originally set to contest the race in 2017, he was forced to delay when he fractured his shoulder during a record setting truck jump stunt.